China Virus

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta (formerly Facebook) will provide a “one-off funding boost” to third-party fact-checkers in the lead-up to a national referendum on whether to change the Australian Constitution. The tech giant will work with RMIT CrossCheck to monitor “misinformation trends” leading up to the contentious Indigenous Voice to Parliament proposal, and will share guidance on “combating false information” with journalists....

Delta Air Lines soared to a record quarterly profit of more than $1.8 billion as summer vacationers packed planes, especially to international destinations, and the airline enjoyed a tailwind from falling fuel prices. The results released Thursday beat Wall Street expectations, and Delta raised its forecast of full-year earnings. Delta officials said strong demand for tickets has continued into the...

Commentary With a recession likely hitting California, now is the worst time for the Legislature to pass bills costly to state businesses. But that’s just what’s happening. Here are four of the worst bills currently on the 2023 Job Killer List of the California Chamber of Commerce. Senate Bill 399 is by Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward). From the summary of...

A preliminary injunction sought by Republicans shows the appetite of the fascist wolf in a libertarian sheep’s clothing. A U.S. federal judge issued an exceptionally broad injunction that prohibits Joe Biden’s administration from communicating with social networking companies to dispute content in the United States. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from the Republican...

AP Images Xavier Becerra It’s a good thing the “adults are back in charge.” Otherwise, we wouldn’t have cocaine found inside the White House. We wouldn’t have “transgenders” exposing themselves on the White House lawn. We wouldn’t have a mentally ill man who thinks he is a woman prancing about in a dress and calling himself an admiral as he...

kemalbas/iStock/Getty Images Plus On Monday a federal judge denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to stay last week’s injunction that restricts the Biden administration from certain communications with social-media firms that clearly violates the First Amendment.   U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued a 155-page preliminary injunction last week on a May 2022 lawsuit that alleged the Biden administration ”colluded with and/or...

Rising construction costs have slowed for the first time in two years as a drop in new home builds eases demand for materials and labour. The cost of building a home or renovating recorded its lowest average increase last month since September 2020, with potential knock-on effects for the housing market and inflation. The national quarterly average growth rate eased to...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...

The major U.S. banks are set to report the biggest jump in loan losses since the COVID-19 pandemic, as rising interest rates put mounting pressure on borrowers across the country. America’s top lenders are expected to release their second quarterly earnings reports this week, with JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and BlackRock releasing theirs on July 14. Bank of America and...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...

Commentary “You will own nothing, and you will be happy.” This confronting statement emanates from the World Economic Forum (WEF), a non-governmental organisation established in 1971 by Klaus Schwab. By all appearances, the WEF is the most powerful organisation in the world. For decades, it has been at the centre of bringing together the world’s richest and most powerful in...

The attorneys general for Missouri and Louisiana have submitted a petition to oppose the Biden administration’s motion to stay an injunction against its efforts allowing it to contact social media firms about a range of online content, including its efforts to flag so-called misinformation. Over the weekend, the two states filed (pdf) a memorandum of opposition to the administration’s motion,...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...

Victorian homeowners will be hit with the heaviest property tax in Australia from the 2023-2024 financial year onward as the state Labor government carries out its COVID-19 debt repayment plan. According to a new report by the Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office, Victorians will need to pay an estimated property tax (land transfer duty plus land tax) of $2,000 (US$1,336) per person...

A Bank of England (BoE) digital pound will be a “complete restructure” of the current financial system and can give the government more control on how people use their money, a financial analyst warns. Some 130 countries are exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to the Atlantic Council. The Bank of England (BoE) and the Treasury are currently considering...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...

WASHINGTON—Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Sunday he would take steps to revoke China’s permanent normal trade relations status if he won the 2024 White House race. “I favor doing that. I think we probably need Congress but I would take executive action as appropriate to be able to move us in that direction,” Mr. DeSantis...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...

On July 4, 11 federal agencies and dozens of their officials were legally blocked from further interaction with more than 20 social media companies about the censoring of information deemed by the government as misinformation. Communication about criminal activity, national security threats, attempted foreign influence, cyberattacks, illegal campaign contributions, and voter suppression are exempt from the ban. The preliminary injunction...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...